Shrinking Violet
by OveliaGirlHaditRight
Summary: The first SoKai story I wrote after beating Kingdom Hearts III, where Sora doesn't fade away and everything is happy. And Sora and Kairi are officially together... but still super innocent and not thinking about anything sexual at all and are fine just holding hands and stuff, and figuring out how to balance this new relationship with everything else in their lives now.


**Author's Note: I wrote this all in one night (early in the morning, while very much sleep deprived), so it's not as good as my other work for that reason. But I thought I still might as well post it, because I need happy SoKai feelings right now.**

**Also, SoKai's pretty innocent in this fic. I plan to write more for them, where they're less so. But for this one, I'm focusing on how even after becoming an official couple in KHIII… they still only hold hands, and that's enough for them (for now. Though I also know it's because Sora didn't fully realize he loved Kairi until after her act of true love… And after that? She gets taken away from him, and they only get to be together one more moment before SORA fades away. So I doubt they could have done anything more there, even if they had wanted to).**

**But for instance, Sora and Kairi spend the night together in this fic (at Kairi's Mom's), and neither of them are having sexual thoughts at all. It doesn't even enter their minds: Partly because they're still pretty young here. Because in doing some deducing, I think I realized Sora and Kairi are STILL somehow only fifteen in KHIII. Yeah…**

**Also, part of this was written to moreso explore that blushing Kairi we got in KHIII. Yep.**

**Fluff, cheese, and more fluff and cheese.**

**Shrinking Violet**

**Kairi's PoV**

Sora squeezed Kairi's hand tighter—as the two of them sat on the paopu tree, and breathed a long sigh of relief after the awful adventure they'd just been on.

Kairi hated that she'd once again been used to hurt Sora... That that man from her nightmares—because of the experiments he'd performed on her when she was a child, before throwing her into space—had killed her twice, and then Sora had nearly died trying to save her.

It made Kairi sick to her stomach, that she'd told Sora he was safe with her—and he had been once (him, and the others through their connection), as she'd kept his existence from fading away completely—and yet it had all still ended up this way.

She knew Sora didn't care in the slightest, or her friends… that they were just happy to have her back, to have them both back, and that's what Kairi tried to focus on now.

Right now, Kairi saw Roxas and Xion debating with Lea and Isa on whether or not sea salt ice cream that fell into the sand was still good... She noticed Pence inspecting Donald's perfect mud castle, that the duck had just erected, as he tried to decide if the mud on Destiny Islands with a Wonder in and of itself. And she caught Riku watching Naminé drawing a hat into her sketchbook, and trying to magically get it appear to protect her hair from the wind.

Kairi smiled at all these displays—and even more that were still going on—and was about to ask Sora if he wanted to go down there where they were at, and swim in the water.

Usually, Kairi avoided the water. But she thought there was enough reason to celebrate today, that she wouldn't really mind getting salt water in her eyes.

But before she could even dream of uttering the words, Sora completely caught the redhead off-guard: "I love you, Kairi."

And she was so much in shock by this confession, that she almost fell backwards onto the island behind her.

And the part of the princess' brain that wasn't reeling, wondered if this was how Sora had felt when she'd sprung the paopu thing on him so suddenly.

"…Sora, I love you, too. Of course I do." But Kairi's words were a lot more calculated than Sora's had been, and she was ashamed for it.

For Kairi _knew_ that she and Sora were in love... but he had a tone to his words, that almost seemed to hint of marriage. And Kairi wasn't quite sure they were ready for even a promise ring yet. They were still only fifteen.

But Sora had changed… and become a bit more desperate with his feelings for her after she'd died that second time—and even a bit before that—Kairi could tell.

And if Kairi was being honest with herself... So had her own feelings become much more desperate, when she hadn't been able to sense him after the Demon Tide and had hoped against hope that her greatest of loves was alright.

Just imagining again, what it had been like without Sora in that moment—and without Riku, Lea, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, and everyone else... but Sora in particular—was nearly enough to make Kairi blackout.

So overcome with her own need now, Kairi reached her hand out and held Sora's face in between her palms.

And then—much more slowly and gently than she'd moved to get here—Kairi placed her lips to Sora's, and let her mouth dance with his as if it was their last night on Earth.

It wasn't a perfect kiss—it wouldn't be, as no one's first one was—as Kairi bumped Sora's nose a few times; and Sora moved away from her whenever he though Kairi's face against the stubble on his chin: clearly thinking it was hurting her—but it was theirs, and that's what made it superb.

And the two lovebirds broke apart only, when they heard everyone giving them a round of applause and whistling.

Kairi and Sora blushed beet red, as they remembered everyone around them and finally started acting proper again.

…Though Kairi was a bit irritated about the interruption, and she could tell Sora felt the same way.

"Shall we go read our friends the Riot Act?" Kairi questioned, grabbing onto Sora's hand as she began leading him down the bridge.

"Please do," Sora agreed, with a slight smirk on his face. But much like her own words, Kairi could tell what her boyfriend said held no real weight.

And instead, Sora began watching in amazement—just when Kairi did—Aqua toasting chestnuts over an open fire.

"You guys want any?" the mage asked, when she noticed the items had caught the couple's eyes. "Terra and Ven have missed my cooking, as it turns out. I'd much rather do some baking, to be honest... but Terra really only likes nuts. So what's a girl to do?"

Truth be told, Kairi _was_ a bit hungry... but she knew if she said yes, Sora—who clearly also wanted some—would let her have the only silverware here to eat, as he went home to get more utensils for himself and everyone else. And not wanting to be away from Sora for even a second, Kairi declined.

"Thank you _so_ much, Aqua... But I'm actually really tired. And I think I'm going to go home and go to bed."

For at least that way, if she had to be separated from Sora… she'd still be with him in her dreams.

But surprisingly, Sora had an even better idea:

"And I'm gonna go with her, Aqua. Riku and I always had sleepovers with Kairi when we were little, so I doubt Kairi's mom Mihoshi will mind if we do the same thing now. But you guys have fun camping out! And I'll see you tomorrow... Oh, Riku. Do you wanna come?"

Sora asked the last, when Kairi and he caught up to him and Mickey trying to figure out if he could do Starkeeper type flips via a water ski.

Riku smiled—clearly glad that they wanted him around more than they wanted alone time, Kairi could see, but she also immediately knew he was going to refuse.

And he did.

"Nah. Xion wants to talk to me about something: Probably about me bequeathing her her own Keyblade, since even now she wants to make sure her identity is her own."

And as those words washed over her, Kairi pondered if Xion had gotten that from her:

Because so often she wanted to stand on her own two feet... but she always came back to thinking she was the shadow of Sora and Riku. And that was why she'd been afraid to even try and escape the Castle That Never Was, until Naminé had told her to believe in herself.

And maybe, in some ways, Riku still needed to believe in himself, too. Which was why Kairi sought to reach to the heart of the issue, as she let her heart do the talking. "If you change your mind, Riku, please do come. You know where to find us." And she made sure to take Riku's hand in hers—the way that she had when she'd helped Sora to see through his disguise-so he understood that no matter what, it was the three of them against the world.

Soon after that—when Sora and Kairi had gotten more than enough hugs from Riku, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Xion, and Naminé—they were piling into Sora's boat, and rowing back to the Main Island together.

As as they did, Kairi eventually found herself thinking about the upcoming situation. "I'm sure Dad will let you borrow some pajamas, Sora. It's the least he can do after you saved the multiverse again, I mean."

Sora looked like he was about to say something to this… but maybe in not having the right words, he didn't speak what he'd clearly meant to.

"…I can just stop at the moogle shop and get something to sleep in there, Kai."

But Kairi was already cutting Sora off—as she stopped paddling, for they'd reached their destination—when she began climbing onto the dock just above her. "Sora, that's silly. And a colossal waste of money. If you don't want to wear my dad's, who's closer to your size, than wear my brother Ryke's…"

Sora _must_ have thought that was a better idea—because when they were in Kairi's home and she was clothed in her own nightgown, Sora came into her kitchen dressed from head to toe and yelled "Tada!"

"Sora, you sound like Ven," Kairi giggled, grabbing the belt around his waist and pulling him to where she'd got cereal out for them. "And via the sleep mask, you have your eyes covered up like Riku did a year ago. Really?!"

And seeming somewhat abashed by that—Sora took the eye covers off without much wait, whilst he stammered: "B-b-by the way, Kairi. You saved the world, too, and you should know that."

So _this_ was what he'd wanted to mention earlier. And it sort of figured, that Kairi's lazy bum would get up the courage to say it only when he was lacking it elsewhere: in wearing the sleep mask, like he truly wanted to. But Kairi wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Th-thank you," Kairi replied—feeling gooseflesh begin to develop on her skin, since she was humiliated in thinking she hadn't done too well in the Keyblade War at all… but appreciating Sora's heart all the same.

She ended up looking at the purple walls of the room they were in—with its orange polka-a-dots for some kind of comfort—but it only served to make Kairi even more embarrassed, since her family clearly sucked at interior design.

"Umm, but about the cereal, Sora. Forgive it for being popcorn-esque—which is weird in milk, I know—but I'm figuring my mom doesn't have any real popcorn, and is planning to soon use this to string on the Christmas tre-"

"Kairi... We- we kissed… Are we going to talk about it, and what it means for us?"

And to say that Kairi wanted to drown herself in the milk in her bowl here would have been an understatement.

Sheesh. Since when had Sora become so confident about this stuff, and she so shy?

But Kairi answered, anyway—even though she found herself becoming the Shrinking Violet she'd been when Sora said she made him strong in the light—because above all else… she wanted to talk to him about this.

"What do you think, Sora? We're going to manage to still spend time with Riku... and figure out who our new friends are, like we both want. But moreover... we'll see what it means to be soul mates at such a young age. I mean… after everything we've gone through to be together now, how could we not?"

And at first, Kairi didn't think Sora was going to react at all.

But then he went into Kairi's kitchen cabinet—pulled out two wine glasses, and then some sparkling grape juice from the fridge—and assured her: "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"...Me neither, Sora. I love you."

And Kairi clinked her glass against Sora's, and leaned her head against his until the moment they both slumped down on the floor and fell asleep.

The cereal, much like their desire for Aqua's chestnuts, completely forgotten.

And yet even without either amazing food, life was good.


End file.
